Black women are already at a higher risk when it comes to healthcare, more specifically Black women are 2x likely to die compared to White women while giving birth.
About 12 years ago, I got sick and wouldn’t be diagnosed for another ten years with what turned out to be Crohn’s Disease. My life completely changed and things I took for granted were put into full perspective for me.
You may have heard of the term IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome). I was misdiagnosed twice: once with IBS and once with Celiac Disease, both of which were easy diagnoses for a broad range of symptoms I experienced. It’s common for doctors and individuals themselves to blame their digestive issues simply on IBS which is incurable and also comes and goes depending on multiple factors like stress, anxiety, environment, etc. I had multiple vitamin deficiencies, abdominal pains, fatigue, bowel issues, etc.
Being misdiagnosed is unfortunately an experience many women have in healthcare, due to the lack of research and time put into women’s health. Experiencing a misdiagnosis twice was extremely concerning and during this time I was prescribed a medication that was doing absolutely nothing to ease my symptoms, but instead was cancelling out my birth control, so I stopped taking it.
The thing I want to bring attention to is how hard it is for those of us with autoimmune diseases/conditions to get diagnosed and how the journey doesn’t stop there. Once there’s a diagnosis the battle to find treatment plans, accessibility to care, payment plans, insurance battles and more begins. I even remember telling a doctor specifically (before any diagnoses) that I thought I had IBS and he dismissed me and insisted my bad blood work was somehow related to an inflamed spleen (my spleen wasn’t inflamed at all). This is just one example of a doctor not listening to a woman and what she’s saying about her own body.
I wasn’t fully aware of how unfairly women are treated when being medically treated. Being misdiagnosed gives me perspective on what other women experience when seeking medical attention. Knowing is one thing, but experiencing these hardships first hand is another.
It’s interesting that things like access to healthcare and payment plans weren’t a thought in my mind until I became diagnosed. It created a whole new set of worries, questions and confusion for me. An issue that was not high on my radar with administrative changes and policies, now became one of the most important for me. Having these barriers is another reason many women can’t access reliable medical care.
The first medication I was prescribed by my doctor after my Crohn’s diagnosis was called Remicade. This medication is normally given through an IV infusion and I got a call from my insurance company and they told me they wouldn’t cover it because I wasn’t fully disabled. Roadblocks like this are also contributing factors to the need for more attentive medical care for women and questions regarding the mental strains this can take on women are ignored often. At one point I began to have the mentality that I didn’t even want medication because of my insurance battles to find one they would cover. This insurance block puts even more pressure on women needing care, but it is something that most people only realize when they experience it including myself.
A big factor in fixing this widespread issue would be to simply start listening to women and take them seriously when they express medical needs/concerns. Organizations like OASH (Office on Women’s Health) improve women’s health policies and education.
ShoutOut! James Madison University 